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Monday, May 25, 2015

12 best films of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival

With another Cannes Film
Festival almost at an end, we’ve been taking stock of what’s been a
particularly strong year for movies.

From searing dramas, to big-hearted family films, to enormous-scale
actioners, the Palais has played home to some extremely diverse films
over the last couple of weeks.

Before the jury (headed up by the Coen brothers) hands out this
year's prizes, we present our definitive countdown of the best films
from the festival this year.

12. Dheepan

The movie: Jacques Audiard follows A Prophet and Rust And Bone with a challenging genre-splicer that tackles big themes with panache.

Our reaction: ‘Jacques Audiard’s remarkable run continues with Dheepan. It’s an unusual hybrid – part intimate immigrant drama, part suburban thriller, with the emphasis emphatically on social realism for the bulk of its runtime. It shouldn’t work, but it soars under Audiard’s supervision.’

Our reaction: ‘The spectacularly grim atmosphere, sinister soundtrack and, of course, the siege set-up give the film an Assault On Precinct 13 vibe. And Saulnier continues to impress as a filmmaker, with a particular knack for building tension and pulling the rug from under your feet in classic horror movie fashion.’

Our reaction: ‘Lanthimos is an equal opportunity satirist, skewering the clichés of singledom as much as he does the expectations placed on couples, but David’s (Farrell) love-conquers-all encounter with the Short Sighted Woman (Weisz) proves that Lanthimos is still a soppy old romantic at heart.’

Our reaction: ‘Sicario is not a modern masterpiece to join the ranks of, say, Zodiac or Zero Dark Thirty, but it is expertly crafted, fearlessly questioning and shockingly grim. Few US thrillers dare to be so adult.’

Our reaction: ‘It is an introspective work of tenderness, melancholy, joy, humour and considerable compassion, with the Italian director’s signature visual flair ensuring that any and all contemplation comes with a blast of brio.’

Our reaction: ‘Fassbender excels at playing conflicted characters, his physicality flecked with fragility, and his Macbeth commands the camera as he commands his soldiers, those pale piercing eyes and that tight, wolfish grin glinting with charismatic madness. This is a general who knows the true weight of the sword.’

6. Tale Of Tales

The movie: Matteo Garrone’s grimmer-than-Grimm fairytale is one of the oddest films to play at this year’s fest.

Our reaction: ‘To say the darkly comic, often horrific, twists and turns are unexpected would be a gross understatement. The words “Happily Ever After” aren’t even part of the film’s vocabulary. It’s a film that trusts its audience to go along with its loosely defined, but entirely believable, world.’

5. Amy

The movie: Asif Kapadia’s heartbreaking documentary that delves beneath the headlines in search of the real Amy Winehouse.

Our reaction: ‘Amy is a startlingly intimate affair, gaining access to friends, lovers and family – and their treasure trove of photos and videos – to caress the soul of an extraordinary artist, a vivacious young woman. The film succeeds in commemorating its subject's spirit and talent, with the tragedy of her loss once more feeling fresh and overwhelming.’

4. Inside Out

The movie: Pixar’s latest goes inside the mind of a young girl, and introduces us to the personified form of the five key emotions.

Our reaction: ‘There’s a powerful, thought-provoking message here that marks Inside Out as one of Pixar’s most mature, heartfelt and, yes, heartbreaking tales to date. We’re not afraid to admit we reached for a tissue on two occasions.’

Our reaction: ‘Nemes has no interest in thriller tropes or anything as tawdry as suspense or excitement. Son Of Saul is a film that plunges the viewer into a nightmarishly utilitarian recreation of the camps, laying bare the day-to-day chores that needed to be performed swiftly and repetitively to ensure maximum efficiency in the business of genocide.’

2. Mad Max: Fury Road

The movie: George Miller returns to the franchise with which he made his name, with Tom Hardy taking on the title role and Charlize Theron in full-on badass mode.

Our reaction: ‘In the battle of the 2015 behemoths, the maxed-out madness of Mad Max: Fury Road sets an extraordinarily high bar – then pole-vaults clean over it and smashes the entire rig to smithereens.’

Our reaction: ‘Exquisitely designed, costumed, shot, scored and acted, Carol unfurls as an intoxicating fever dream in which volcanic emotions play out with great restraint. Blanchett, of course, is supreme, meticulously laying out Carol’s pain, melancholy, ardour, strength and wisdom. It is to Mara’s immense credit that she matches her co-star scene for scene, lust for lust, quiet agony for quiet agony.’